“Rowed out my teeth: 'The police in Sanford under fire after the hostage video is disturbed, becomes viral

Sanford, Fla. – According to the police authority, a disturbing hostage incident at a petrol station in Sanford has triggered an investigation of how civil servants dealt with the situation.

In a YouTube video on Tuesday, Chief Cecil Smith said that he was made aware of a body camera video that was spread online over the weekend.

According to Smith, the video showed a “critical incident” in June 2024, in which a woman who worked at the petrol station was brought into the bathroom by an “unknown male subject”.

The police, which was connected to the YouTube channel “Ewu Bodycam”, that uploaded the film material that showed exactly what happened. From Tuesday afternoon, the video had achieved almost 1.3 million views.

[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]

The Body Camera film material shows the officials who react to the gas station, and a customer outside the shop tells them: “You have to get in there quickly, Mann-Er only cuts your damn neck!”

Officials then rush into the shop, where they learn that an employee was brought into the men's bathroom by a man, the latter of whom was later identified as a 63-year-old Randal Lawton.

However, the film material reveals that an officer – ready with his firearm – hesitated before he ran into the bathroom when the woman asked for help, came back and ask other people in the petrol station.

“It is on the left in this door, but … the narrow, brother of the hallway,” the officer can then be heard. “It's a setup, you feel me?”

As a result, the responding officers discussed and waited for more units to arrive before they went into the bathroom, as the video shows. The film material continues, with more officers finally arriving at the petrol station and finally breaking into the petrol station.

Once inside, an officer aims at Lawton, who stands over the bloody employee and wears a box cutter.

“Let the knife fall!” The officer screams. “Go to the floor!”

After several commands, Lawton can be seen how he climbs on his stomach, and the officers then put him in handcuffs.

According to a arrest report, Lawton later announced that he came across a “demon” at the gas station that was a woman and had attacked him for years because of his use of cigarettes.

“Randal said that because of the demon, he believed him had to be punished,” the report said. “Randal advised that he did not want to kill the demon, but that he had to be injured.”

The Body Camera video also shows the police, who speaks to the victim, that Lawton lured her into the bathroom and “torn my teeth out” while trying to cut her neck. She also said that Lawton repeatedly called her “Eva”.

Lawton is now charged with a fatal weapon because of heavy battery, without violence against officers and kidnapped. It has a bond of $ 50,500.

However, Chief Smith said that the viral video led to the audience to express concerns about the reaction of the police, since the officials did not immediately enter the bathroom where the victim called for help.

“Unfortunately, this was the first time that I had also seen this film material,” said Smith. “I agree that the video requires a thorough review of the incident and the officer's answer.”

Smith added that an investigation into the reaction of the civil servants was opened during the incident, and the first two officials on site were removed from patrol obligations and recorded until the result of the administrative task.